The Best Kept Secrets
by steph2009
Summary: Both knew the moment they laid eyes on one another, there was no fighting this. They were meant to be one another's addiction, a deadly pull neither could fight.
1. Prologue

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Prologue: The Same**

As the door to the classroom opened and admitted Death the Kidd, he heard the familiar gasp of a woman he had long ago attempted to forget. He turned his golden eyes toward her silently. Her emerald green shined back at him from her seat next to a completely unsymmetrical boy with red eyes. He fought off one of his common episodes and listened as the teacher-the very same mad scientist he had watched manhandle four students-introduced him; all the while, he was very aware of her eyes on him. As badly as he wanted to deny it, it felt good to be in her sights again, to be in her eyes. The familiar feel of being lovingly caressed by her warm gaze again did wondrous things for his self-esteem and reawakened the emotions he had long since banished to the darker depths of his mind.

Kid had thought that her look would advert when he sat down. He smirked-symmetrically, of course-behind his hand as he was proven correct. Oddly, as the lesson progressed, he felt very content, a rare feature, underneath her less than frequent glances.

* * *

Maka Albarn could not believe her misfortune or luck, she couldn't quiet decide, as she glanced at him. He had not changed in appearance. Those three stripes that threw off his symmetry, a taboo for his self-esteem, were still there, doing what they did best, throwing off his symmetry. She smiled lightly as she took notes on the lesson.

She happily admitted to herself that she had seen the small, almost unnoticeable flinch that he attempted to suppress as his eyes had landed on her partner, Soul Evans. Even his choice in partners were predictable, Maka was sure that the twins, while being different in stature, would become identical weapons that complimented their meister's strange need for symmetry. She hid her smile successfully. He was still very much the same.


	2. No Escape

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter One: No Escape**

The newest student was the first to leave the classroom for the day.

"Are you coming, Kid?" Liz asked as he stopped outside the door.

"No, you two go on without me. I have some questions for the teacher," he suppressed a smirk as the girls walked, glancing back only once, toward the exit. He knew that he had awoken their suspicions. For what reason would Death the Kid stay behind, he knew they wondered. He was, after all, very educated. Still, Kid knew that she would come to him. She always did.

* * *

Maka had seen him bid his partners goodbye from over Soul's shoulder.

"Soul, go on home. I've got to stop by the library," she smiled. Soul rolled his eyes, but accepted her words as truth. The library was, after all, her second haunting ground.

"Later, tiny tits," he drawled. Maka felt the familiar sting and anger at his words, but shook them off. Maka made a show of walking the direction of the library before a hand grabbed her arm lightly and pulled her into the darker halls of the school-those only the son of Death, the school's dean, would know. Maka smiled in pleasure.

"Kid," she greeted. She could feel his breath and the heat from his body, familiar comforts. Kid pressed into her harder as he leaned forward.

"I'm disappointed, Maka, you're still so predictable," he breathed as his teeth nipped gently at her ear.

"I could say the same for you, Kid-kun…" She drawled, knowing that the formality of her words would enrage him. Just as she thought, the gentle nips across her neck turned slightly violent, but still she smiled. "Not much has changed at all…" Her hand tangled in his black hair. "I wonder what your girls would say if they knew that the gentleman you showed them was really all a rouse. That the real Death the Kid…"

"Is what you desire most," Kid smirked against her bruised neck. Maka smiled.

"The twisted, unadulterated Kid is all I know," Maka whispered as the young man continued his vicious assault on her senses.

"I'm only this way around you," he admitted into her collarbone between kisses. Maka pulled his hair tightly. He pulled away from her delicate collarbone. Kid leaned toward her. Their faces a breathe apart.

"Good," Maka breathed. Their lips pressed together, not in a gentle kiss, but one of raw passion and need. Both knew the moment they laid eyes on one another, there was no fighting this. They were meant to be one another's addiction, a deadly pull neither could fight. All it took was one look, they were lost to the longing, the intense craving that dictated their relationship. It was the reason they had been separated; it was their best kept secret and their fathers' worst nightmare. There was no escape.

* * *

The original Death was afraid for his son and the daughter of his most trusted friend and weapon, Spirit Albarn; but he knew that the longer the separation lasted, the more the craving would grow. Death had known from the very beginning that it was very dangerous to separate the couple, but he appeased Spirit by allowing it. Now, he regretted the decision. After all, once the Shinigami found his mate, it was nearly impossible to separate them. He knew this first hand. He had experienced it. It was the pull of the Shinigami to their mate and mate to master. It was alliance that would defy all logic and law. There was no escape.


	3. Tenfold Past

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Two: Tenfold Past**

_"Friends forever?" Maka had asked as Kid and she sat on the roof of the school. They had been brought together by their fathers, unintentionally. Kid looked at her funny at her words. "What?" Little Maka asked with a tilt of her head. _

_"Don't you feel more?" Younger Kid asked. Maka giggled. _

_"Yup!" She answered. "Do you know what it is?" He shook his head, not wanting to scare her away. She was a normal human being. She knew nothing of the supernatural. Kid knew and had from the moment he laid eyes on her. She was meant to be his._

* * *

_"You aren't allowed around her anymore," those were the words that had effectively torn young Kid apart. Maka was his mate. Maka was his future. Maka was his life. And his father had forbid him from seeing her any longer. For the first time, Kid went into a rage while Death watched on with pained eyes. "I'm sorry, son." He whispered and he was truly sorry. _

_Then his son's rages would die down to a more painful experience-the sounds of his son screaming in agony during the night. Shinigami sighed, took off his mask, and rubbed his temples. He knew this would happen, but he listened to Spirit. _

_Spirit was not a Shinigami, he did not understand. Spirit saw the relationship Death's son had with Maka as destructive and wrong. They were too young, he had said. Shinigami sighed. If he had not listened, Kid and Maka's punishment would have been much worse. Spirit had threatened to take his daughter out of Death City. The farther the distance, the more severity of pain. _

_And already, his son's screams were ripping him apart. What Spirit didn't understand, Maka and Kid could die from this separation. _

* * *

_Days turned to weeks and weeks to months, so on and so forth, Kid had stopped coming and the pain in Maka's heart had increased. He had abandoned her. Kid had been her best friend. Still even that could not explain the pain, she asked her mom-Kami, who only shook her head and cried. Kami understood what Spirit was incapable of seeing. Kid needed Maka like he needed air, and Maka needed Kid like she needed water. _

_Nightmares haunted her sleep; she awoke screaming his name. Her screams always brought her mother and father running to her bedside. After awhile, Maka overheard more arguments-this time they were not about her father's unfaithfulness, which had been stressing their marriage, but about his denial. Kid and Maka. Maka and Kid. There was no stopping it, but Spirit would be damned if he wasn't going to try. Soon, her mother was packing her bags. _

_"I'm tired, Spirit," she said. "I'm tired of your cheating, I'm tried of your lies. More importantly, I'm tired of what your doing to our daughter." With those final words, despite all of Spirit's pleading, Kami left while Maka watched through the window. Before her mother climbed into the car, she smiled lightly up at her daugther._

_After that, Maka spent her days buried in books of any kind in an attempt to ignore the pain she didn't understand and the pain that had been brought on by her mother's leaving. Yes, cards and letters arrived frequently, but they couldn't replace Kami in the flesh. So, she continued reading and learning._

_A new kind of depression found her, however, when she discovered a book and its contents. The title made her think of Kid, something she had tried so hard to avoid. The more she read, the more she grew to understand. She was Kid's mate, and, whether she liked it or not, their bond was irreversable. The more she read, the more horrified she became. The pain was of their separation and the dreams she had been having were his own daily experiences. Kid's pain was her own. _

_Maka debated going to see him, just this once. It would be easy, she reasoned, to slip from her home. The only problem she had was that she didn't know where he lived. Depression weighed heavily on her, even as she asked around. No one would tell her. No one would speak of him. Why? Because Death had forbid Maka from ever knowing on the behalf of his working relationship with the Sycthe, her father. A new type of anger drove her to move out of her father's house, despite all of his tears, and into a new apartment building. _

_Then, she met Soul. She spent her days with her weapon, learning him and learning how to wield him. The pain was always present, but became easier to ignore when she was around him. If Death the Kid was her addiction, Soul was her antidote. _

* * *

_Temporary relief for Shinigami's worries came in the form of two rebellious teens, Liz and Patty Thompson. They distracted Kid from the ever present pain and gave him an outlet-training and, the more frowned upon, sex. The sexual side of distraction was mainly given by the eldest Thompson sister. Small signs gave their interludes away. Only one resided on Kid, light nail marking trailing down his back. Elizabeth Thompson held only small, light, and completely symmetrical hickeys. _

_Shinigami wondered if his son was really thinking about the consequences of his actions. His mate would be furious with his actions and one of the more serious consequences-his involvement with the eldest Thompson would give Maka the right to do the same. Before, Maka would experience pain at the slightest intimate touch from a man; but now that Kid has had sexual relations, Maka could do the same. _

_"She wouldn't," his son had declared when he pulled him aside. Death shook his head at his son's cocky answer. His son simply did not understand. A Shinigami's mate could feel when her master was unfaithful. If she were driven by anger, she could and would. _

* * *

_**(A/N: Please remember that this is a M-rated fanfiction and it is rated so for a very good reason.)**_

* * *

_Maka had opened Soul's door with teary, green eyes. She had felt it. Kid's unfaithfulness came in the form of intense pain more powerful than any before. Anger filled her as she saw what he had done through his own eyes. Then as she let it consume her, only one thought filled her mind: payback. He deserved to hurt the way she did. _

_Soul lay vertically on his bed. His red eyes focused on his partner. He tilted his head as she walked up to him. It was true, Soul was very attracted to his miester, although he insulted her. She sank down onto the bed and turned to him. _

_"Soul," she whispered. _

_"What is it?" Soul asked, as she slid her hand onto his chest. His heart pounded furiously as she leaned closer. Her lips pressed against his. For a moment, he wondered what she was doing, but as she straddled him, he no longer cared. Their clothing was shed and thrown about the room. _

_Soul's lips felt hot and delicious against hers. His hands felt wonderful against her bare skin as they touched unknown places. When he slipped into her and broke her seal of virginity, pain was the last thing she felt before indescribable pleasure burst through her veins with every thrust of his tanned hips. _

* * *

_Death sighed as his son's enraged scream reached him. Yes, Maka knew and, yes, Maka was giving it back to him, tenfold. _

_"Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned..." Death whispered as he listened to his son's rage. _

* * *

As night fell, miles apart from one another, rage burned. The memories of their deceit, their unfaithful ways, returned to the reunited couple. The sight of their sinful activities were still engraved into their minds, even as Death the Kid slipped from his room and down the street, intent on reaching his mate's home.


	4. Their Madness

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Three: Their Madness**

* * *

Maka stood there in a small, baby blue towel and leaned against the bathroom door. She could feel his soul. The power of it still stole her breath away. From his wavelength, she could taste his anger, and, as twisted as it was, she relished in it.

_**"In the event of separation, madness is likely. The need for their mate and master is so strong, it overtakes their usual personality. This makes them very different toward one another than they are with others in life. More violent, impulsive, and uncontrollable are traits possible."**_

The words of the book reached her mind once more. She now knew it to be true, they could never be their normal selves around one another until they got their fill. Maka sighed and sagged against the wood of her door. They would be this way for years, but separation was not an option.

"Maka," his soul wavelength pulsed in aggravation, "I know you're in there. Come out and _play._" Maka suppressed a delightful shudder as his voice arose something inside of her. It was his own traits calling to her, demanding that she make it her own. As she debated his demand, she heard the small click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Do I have to come in there?" It was a promised whisper, as dark as night itself.

With the last sane part of herself in play, she rejected:

"No, don't come in, I'm not descent." Then she wanted to smack herself as his wavelength was tainted with lust. It teasingly wove around her body and tickled her senses. Maka shuddered lightly and bit back a moan. She listened to the quiet crunch of carpet underneath his feet as he walked toward her bathroom door. Shivers racked her body in a delicious tempo. Then, his hand fell to the cool metal knob.

"Maka!" Soul called as he walked toward her door, unknowing to the tension and instability behind her door. He opened it to find it empty. "Huh?" He mumbled. "Guess she went out."

Maka breathed through her nose. Kid's strong hand covered her mouth. The cold metal of his rings contrasted drastically with her warm lean body pressed against hers roughly. His other hand had her wrists pinned above her head. Despite her growing want and lust, her sane mind held on strongly, screaming to fight him that this was wrong. Vaguely, she was aware of a voice gently telling her no, to let him have his way. She shuddered lightly.

_'I don't want too!' _She screamed in her mind. Maka wiggled in an effort to dislodge him. Small screams brust from her lips as her panic heightened. He growled lowly in warning. A delicious shiver ripped through her body at the sound. The voice in her mind grew louder, overcoming her initial panic at being dominated so easily. Gently, it spoke to her.

"Stop fighting," it said, "he has his right to you. Besides, you want him too. He will not harm you..." Slowly, under its influence, her struggles ceased.

As the door to her bedroom closed, Kid's hand fell from her mouth to explore her skin. His nails gently pulled over her exposed thighs. Up and down, up and down. Small moans and whimpers broke from her lips. Kid's lips paved a burning path down her neck, onto her collarbone, and her shoulder. His cool fingers trailed a path up her slender thighs to the bottom of the towel. Slowly, the blue was unraveled from around her frame and her bare bottom was pressed into the door. As the cool air touched her skin, she was shaken back to her senses. With a small squeal, she broke through the madness that circled around the two teens-a small, white light among darkness. Her green eyes widened as she saw it. It loomed over her like an oppressing force. Fear seized her as she heard it again:

"Submit. Submit. Submit." The voice in her head was his madness! That alone frightened her. Maka began screaming a new, but only with half effort as it stretched toward her. Kid growled in aggravation. His teeth nicked her skin roughly, unaware to the blackness pulsing between the two of them suddenly. Maka's struggles slowly stopped. Her veins burned as his madness spread. "Stop fighting me..." It whispered sadly. Maka's eyes widened.

_**"When a mate defies their master, the Shinigami will unknowingly push his emotions into her or him. It is not a conscious effort."**_

Slowly, Maka relaxed once more. His madness filled her, making her lose her mind too. With one last shudder, one last fighting attempt, she surrendered. After all, she knew, he would not harm her severely.

* * *

Slowly, they came down from the high. Maka tilted her head to the side gently. She knew that he had came, she had felt it, but there was no evidence. Fear widened her eyes.

"You didn't…" Kid shook his head.

"Shinigami can stop…pregnancy easily. All they have to do is erase their sperm…" He explained in a very logical tone, despite the blush on his cheeks. Maka sighed in relief. Kid smiled lightly and slipped from underneath her, for they had sank down onto the tile, and toke her into his arms.

"Where we goin'?" She asked drowsily. He kissed her forehead as her back touched the mattress.

"You're going to bed…I, on the other hand, have to get home."

"Going to your mistress?" The words slipped out before she could stop them. Kid's eyes narrowed and blackness pulsed in the air. Maka's eyes widened as her own responded.

_'Not again!' _Her thoughts screamed as fear slammed into her. Kid breathed out through his nose. His nails ripped the fabric of her mattress.

"No," he growled. Maka tensed, unsure if he was answering her question or talking to the madness inside of him. "I didn't tell anyone when I left…" His nose trailed down her neck and his lips kissed her naked collarbone. Maka sighed in relief. The gentleness he showed, he had fought off his madness. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and trailed into his hair. He pulled away from her collar as she tugged gently. She smiled and kissed his lips.

"Stay…" She asked. Kid smiled lightly.

"And what will happen when I don't return?" He countered, despite his wavering resolve. Her bed was tempting.

"You wake up earlier than any person alive…I'm sure you'll be fine…" Maka drawled sleepily. Kid smiled and consented to her wish. He slipped in bed next to his mate, content, if only for the night.

* * *

**_(A/N: I will try to post chapters faster, but I deleted much of my original because it was slowly becoming a Soul/Maka and Liz/Kid fanfiction. I did not think that my readers would appreciate that seeing as the main couple is, indeed, Kid/Maka.) _**


	5. Keeping the Secret

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Four: Keeping the Secret**

Maka's hand hit a naked chest hard. Her whole body tensed.

"Huh?" She whispered as she struggled to roll over. The man's arms were locked around her waist in a vice grip. Panic began to sneak up on her.

_'Okay…a man is in my bed, naked as the day he was born, and so am I. It's not Soul. This man's chest is less tone.' _Despite her logical thinking, her heart began to speed up. _'So who the fuck is it!' _

_"Stay…" _

"Oh…" She whispered as she remembered the night before. Kid had came into her room. They had had sex. She had asked him to stay with her. Maka smiled contently.

_'It had a bad start, but once everything calmed down, it was amazing…' _She stretched and winced. "Ouch…" She mumbled. She reached downward, past her lover's hand, and rubbed her upper thighs. Pain shot through her at her touch. She tilted her head. _'I'm probably bruised…' _

Maka was tempted to wiggle free, but she did not want to awaken her mate, so instead, she took the time to look around her room. An amused laugh found its way up her throat as she spotted his tie and jacket. She had been so lost to him last night that she hadn't realized that he was missing two articles of clothing!

Suddenly, she jumped. Kid's hand had shaken lower down her body.

"Eep!" She squeaked.

_"Soul! Stop it!" She had squealed as Soul's hand dipped to her upper thigh in his sleep. Given at that moment, she had her leg thrown over his waist and her arm around his stomach, but still. She wiggled away and fell to the floor with a crash. "Owie…" She mumbled. Her slender hand cupped her forehead. "That kinda hurt…" She opened her eyes to see Soul's red looking back at her from the bed._

_"Well, good morning to you too," he had drawled. Maka flipped him off and rubbed her aching forehead. _

Maka bit into her lip.

_'Am I always going to think of that?' _She wondered.

"I sure hope not…" Maka jumped as her partner grumbled. The grip he had on her waist slackened as she rolled toward him. Her eyes caught the blackness gathering slowly around his soul. "I don't know what I would do if you did…"

"You can see into my mind?" Maka asked.

"Yes, just as you can see in mine," he answered. Maka tilted her head in a cute manor on her pillow.

"I knew that we could see through one another's eyes, but I never thought that we could read each other's minds…"

"You mean you haven't found a book on it?" He teased. Maka pouted.

"I'm not allowed…I found the Shinigami book by accident…" She mumbled. "They're all restricted to students…"

"Only reserved for the highest weapons and Shinigami himself." Maka looked away from Kid with shamed eyes. He smiled lightly and pulled her head back toward him. "I didn't say that I would tell him…besides, I think he meant for you to have it…"

_"Liz-chan," Kid heard, "will you deliver this to the Albarn residence?" _

_"Playing matchmaker, Shinigami-sama?" Liz had asked. He could practically hear his father shaking his head. _

_"Not at all, sit for a moment and I will explain to you," the rustle of clothing indicated that his tallest weapon was sitting. "Maka Albarn, my weapon's daughter, is his intended mate." He heard Liz gasp and he closed his golden eyes. He had known the words would hurt her so he had not told her. "There is no fighting it however. It is permanent. Extremely discomfort, namely insanity, will occur if this separation continues…mainly in my son."_

_"So she won't be affected?" Liz asked, her tone indignant. _

_"She will be. By him," Shinigami spoke clearly. His tone chiding. "Do not think ill of her. If there is anyone to blame for your hurt, blame my son. He should have told you." That night he had been delivered a very strong punch to the cheek and another on the other to make it symmetrical. Besides her violent, open reaction, her silent reaction had hurt him worse. For Liz, the strongest girl he had known, had been moved to tears. _

_"I'm the other woman!" She had cried to her sister. "I guess I never had a chance, eh, Patty?" She had mumbled into her sister's lap. Kid slowly closed the door and leaned against it. Silently, he vowed that she would not be ever again. _

"Why didn't you tell her?" Maka whispered.

"Did you ever tell Soul?" Kid asked in their silence. His breath caught as he nodded.

"Afterward…" She mumbled.

"And your affair with him continued…" Kid mumbled.

The shower. The counters. The floor of the kitchen. The table, the countertop. Her bed. His bed. The dressers. The walls. Their floors. The living room floor. The couch. The coffee table. Every part of her apartment, Soul and she had had sex on or in.

Kid could feel the madness tugging harder at his subconscious, demanding that he punish her for her unfaithfulness. He shuddered and fought against it.

"When I'm hurting less," Maka spoke through his fight, "we could repave that way…" She knew instantly what he had thought of, for she had seen it too, but she did not regret it. It was not like they had gone at it like bunnies, their sex escapes were often after horrible missions or on terrible days.

_"Just sex, right?" Soul had asked. _

_"Just sex." Maka agreed. _

She should have known that it wouldn't have stayed that way.

_"I love you." He had whispered after one night in his room. He had believed she didn't hear. That night, as he lay sleeping, she had cried, because she could never be with him. What hurt her worse, he knew, yet he still hoped. _

_"Yeah, I do love you," he had said when she confronted him about it. He shrugged. "I never expected anything out of us. I knew you were meant to be with someone else. I love you. I can't control that. We can stop if it makes you uncomfortable." He suggested. Maka had jumped at the opportunity to quit. _

_"I don't want to hurt you anymore…" She whispered._

_"You never hurt me." Was his answer._

His nails dug roughly into her side. Maka hissed, but stayed silent. The madness around her mate had grown wilder.

_"Kid-kun!" Young Maka exclaimed as she tackled her friend onto the soft grass. It had been three days since they had last seen one another, since the roof. Maka smiled down at her blushing friend. Her small arms were still wrapped around his waist. "You made it!" It was her sixth birthday party. _

_"So did dad…" He explained, jerking his chubby thumb toward the large mirror hanging on the wall at the Albarn home. Maka jumped up from her friend and beamed at Kid's father. _

_"I would hug you, but…" Maka mumbled, unsure of how to proceed. She leaned in different directions and poked the mirror. Her eyes widened as her finger poked through the wall. "Huh?" _

_"It's only like that when he's on it for some reason. I fell through the one in my bedroom because of it." Kid admitted. Maka's laughter filled the room. Kid smiled lightly at his friend, happy that the oddity of his father brought her happiness and amusement. He was so glad that she was good with the oddity that was him. _

Maka had kept her eyes open throughout her memory, although she had discovered her memories were more vivid when she closed her eyes, so she could watch Kid's soul, the madness that surrounded it. As she had thought of her tackling her now lover, the madness slowly calmed.

'This will come in handy,' she thought. A devious idea struck her and the matching smile spread across her face.

_"No, don't come in, I'm not descent." _

_Her hands fell onto his back, grabbing at the hot skin there. He hissed as her nails raked his skin._

Maka watched as a delicious shudder tore through her mate's body. From their entangled position, she was aware of his excitement.

"So cruel…" He breathed against her shoulder. Maka giggled lightly. Her giggles turned to a small gasp as he hovered over her. His gentle, gold eyes looked down at her lovingly and for the moment, he was sane. His lips claimed hers. Maka sighed against his. He smiled.

"We've got to get to school..." She whispered. "Separately." Her green eyes widened as his golden darkened.

"Why? Afraid to be seen with me?" He demanded. His hands curling into her comforter.

_**"In the aftermath of a lengthy separation, the man housing the Shinigami (see chapter five) will fall to the madness that the Shinigami are infamous for. It is mainly a duel personality to deal with the stress of reaping so many souls and, more often than not, watching people die in very gruesome ways."**_

"No, but it would raise questions as to why I showed up with you. I'm not supposed to know who you are." Maka slowly moved her hands across her lover's back in an effort to soothe the Shinigami and herself. For the Shinigami tugged at his mate's madness, evoking her to come out and play. Mentally, she shuddered. Soul would catch them if she submerged to his power, to the lull of madness.

It was like talking down a jumper, she realized. You didn't quite know what to say. You simply made it up as you went along in an effort to calm them. Maka's hands locked tighter around his back as the madness inside of her responded to the madness within him.

_'No,' _she whispered mentally, _'you coming out will not help...' _She was vaguely aware of the gentle ticking of the clock in the hall and his low chuckle. Her heart beat picked up as Soul's door clicked open. Her eyes widened as she watched Kid's darken. His hand twitch. The madness began to steal her breath. _'Please, no...' _Maka pleaded. A cold rush of air made her gasp. Her green eyes fixed on the place where he had been. All he had left were fluttering covers in his wake and an open window. As quickly as he had came, he was gone, leaving her with a strange emptiness in her that only he could feel.

Slowly, her door creaked open.

"Maka?" Soul called. His red eyes widened as they landed on the open window and Maka still in bed. Her hands were shaking as she smoothed her cover down over her. "Are you okay?" He asked. Maka nodded.

"Yeah," she lied, "I just got hot last night." He eyed her in suspicion. She rolled her own. "I'll be out in a minute..." She soothed. He backed from the room reluctantly, fearing the book on her mantle. As soon as the door closed, Maka jumped and shut the window. Her eyes widened comically as the landed on the forgotten tie and button on the floor just beside her bed. Easily, she pushed it underneath her bed with her foot and silently prayed that Soul had not seen.

* * *

Not far from Maka's apartment, Kid leaned against the alleyway. His hand was curled firmly into a fist.

_'I almost killed him...'_ He realized with a cool shudder. Yet, the Shinigami still screamed for blood. Kid did not even wince as his nails drew blood. _'She cares for him.'_ He attempted to placid.

_**"All the more reason..."**_ His madness answered.

_'I will not kill him.'_ Kid vowed as he kicked off the wall and started toward home.

_**"We shall see..."** _


	6. Difficulties

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Five-Difficulties**

Only a few days had passed since Kid's arrival at the academy, but no matter the amount of time, rumors and speculations still spread. Some said that Liz and Kid had been caught having sex in the janitor's closet; others-mainly girls-said that Kid was with them. Very few, unknowingly hitting the nail on the head, said that Kid and Maka were a couple. Unlike with the other rumors, when confronted Kid did not confirm or deny their questions of a relationship between their strongest miester and himself. The group that circled Maka and, in extension, Kid-as they accepted their story of meeting in the library and becoming friends through their daily studies-quickly dismissed the rumors.

But the rumors gave birth to suspicions among the secret couple, particularly ones about Liz and Kid.

Maka watched the basketball game, but despite her resolve, her eyes would always roam to the Shinigami. Her hand curled into a fist as Liz's hand unwittingly brushed Kid's arm as she passed. Maka sighed.

_'I know I'm being silly, but I still…'_

* * *

_"Kid!" Liz had moaned lustfully "Kid…Kid…" She repeated as he continued his torture. "Please…"_

_"Please, what, Liz?" He drawled as his lips traveled lower. _

_"Stop teasing me!" Liz demanded breathlessly. Her medium, red nails dug into his shoulders as she pulled him upward. _

* * *

_'See it…' _She whimpered mentally. _'It never really stopped hurting…' _She sighed. _'Even if I indulged myself with Soul…it still…hurt…I still saw him…' _

"Maka?" She smothered the gasp that threatened to rise. The object of her pains was standing before her with a Dr. Pepper in hand. "You okay?" He asked as he sank down beside her.

_**"You can hear my thoughts, you tell me." **_She snarled mentally. With their friends preoccupied by the game, Maka allowed his hand to close over hers.

"Nothing is going on." He attempted to soothe.

"Yeah, my dad said that too," Maka drawled aloud as she stood from the bench. The spike of his anger reached her even as she stepped away. She was sure that if she glanced behind her, she would see his hand outstretched, reaching for her. Maka sighed.

* * *

_'I can't allow myself to be hurt like my mom did…' _

_"Momma," Maka whimpered over the phone line. "Why did you marry him if you knew that he was like that?" She was aware of the heavy sigh._

_"I love him, Maka," Kami had sighed. "Once he caught my attention, it was like a moth to a fire. He drew me in and no matter how many times I got burned, I just couldn't walk away…"_

_"Until now…" Maka drawled bitterly. _

_"I've had enough…" _

* * *

Maka shook off the hurt that always presented itself as she walked away. She could still feel Kid's golden eyes on her as she walked. The madness seemed to dance around his soul, but he could do nothing here without blowing their cover. Death the Kid's eyes widened in pain as she broke into a run while the Shinigami roared in anger.

* * *

Maka sighed and laid her head down onto the book.

"Ah…I can't concentrate!" She whined.

"What a shame," Maka gasped and spun around in her chair. Kid leaned against the wall. A startled gasp escaped her lips as her body slammed backward into the desk. Kid's hands pinned her own against the wall. His hips were in between hers.

"Hm…did my comment affect you that much?" Maka asked as his nails bit roughly into the wall. Her madness spiked in response to his.

"No matter how many times my hands touched her, I thought of you," he hissed.

"Yeah, that sounds fine and dandy, but you were still touching her! Not me! I would rather you have been touching yourself!" His body pinned her harder at her words. His eyes darkened drastically.

"And what of Soul?" He asked. "I don't think I imagined that…"

"No, you didn't."

"You believe to wrongs make it right?"

"No."

"Then what were you doing?"

"Hurting you. Like you had hurt me." Throughout their conversation they had moved closer toward the wall. Maka's body now pressed heavily against the wood. Kid's hips bit into the desk. Their faces left no room for movement. Anger and madness made the air heavy.

"Well, it worked."

"Good," Maka snapped. A small scream tore from her lips as his fist slammed roughly into the wood by her head. Small splinters rained down over her shoulder. He was losing himself to the Shinigami and Maka didn't care enough to pull him back.

She wanted to hurt for what she was saying. For what she had done.

_'All I ever do is hurt those I care about…' _Maka didn't have it in her to protest to the darkness anymore. She didn't fight back as he lifted her from the desk and carried her to her bed.

Maka sighed in bliss as he fell beside her. What had started out increasing violent had turned soft and sweet near the end. It wasn't something she was used too. "Um…" Maka whispered as he stared lovingly at her. Her arms had long ago fallen asleep and legs grown numb. "Kid?"

"Hm?" He asked. Maka glanced upward then downward. "Oh!" Kid laughed. Her arms fell to her sides.

"I'm sorry…" Maka whispered.

"I know," Kid soothed, "I am too." His arms folded around her waist as he pulled her closer. "But it is in the past and that is something that even Death can not change…" Kid opened his eyes as she wiggled in his arms. He loosened his hold and she rolled to face him.

"Why is it you always go so slow?" She asked suddenly, a small blush stained her cheeks.

"I like to let you lead." He answered. "After all, I do not know how you like it." Maka blushed.

"I thought that you could tell...from..." Kid shook his head.

"I attempted to tune the scenes out." He explained. "I do not like to see my mate being sexed by another man." Maka looked away from his intense gaze as the madness pulsed gently in response.

The kitchen wall, floor, countertops, table, and against the frig; her room, her wall, her bed, her floor; her bathroom, her shower, her floor, her countertop; his room, his walls, his bed, his floors; his bathroom, his shower, his floor, and his countertops; the living room floor, couch, coffee table, nightstand, and wall: these were all the places that Maka and Soul had had sex on or in. Unlike his affair with Liz, Maka's had not stopped with Soul.

"You are insatiable…" Kid whispered.

"No I'm not!" Maka exclaimed. "All that happened only one day out of the-"

"I know." Kid cut off.

* * *

(A/N: From this point to the other line break,"_**this" **_will be Kid's seeing what is happening. Almost as if he is watching. As creeping as that sounds.)

_Kid whimpered lightly while holding his head on a Saturday night. The images still would not go away. Every Saturday this is where he could be found, curled up in his room against his wall. He had gotten to where he could plan the episodes, but tonight, it seemed as though they were unpredictable._

_**Glass crashed violently against the floor of the kitchen. His mate's body was suddenly slammed onto the table top. Her tank top ripped by a blade.**_

_It no longer surprised him. When he had first seen this he had believed her to be in a bad situation and had wanted to rush to her aid, but now he knew that it was all part of their game._

_**"Soul…Soul….Soul!" She chanted as his hands roamed her body. They had wasted no time playing around.**_

_"Must have been a bad mission…" Kid mumbled dryly. For he knew that the only time they skipped over foreplay was when they both needed it to be rough and unkind-a way to mask their pain. Despite understanding, the desire to murder pulsed through Kid's veins._

_**Her nails tore at his skin as Soul's sharp teeth sank into the skin over her shoulder.**_

_"Go away, go away!" He chanted as he rocked back and forth._

_"Let me kill him…" The Shinigami whispered. "He who dares touch our mate deserves death…"_

_"No!" Kid growled as he shot to his feet. He stormed to the door, ignoring the Shinigami as he screamed for revenge. "Liz, Patty!" The girls, who could hear the barely suppressed rage in their miester's voice, instantly appeared before him. "Shooting range, please." Liz glanced at him curiously but still consented to transform alongside her sister._

_"Kiddo is angry!" Patty stated obviously. Liz stated silent as Kid stormed into the built in shooting range of their home. She could see what her sister could not. Kid was more than angry; he was feeling murderous. The Shinigami was demanding to come out and play. Liz shuddered and folded her arms around her body. This was Kid straddling the Shinigami and his sane side._

* * *

Maka did not know what to say to her mate, her master. She could feel his madness pulsing through the air, but did not know how to stop it.

"I'll be back," he growled. Maka moved to grab his arm only to be tossed roughly back on the bed.

"Kid-" She ushered from the bed with wide, frightened eyes. Before she could finish her sentence, he had left. Despite understanding that he was in pain and barely suppressing murderous intent, Maka's heart hurt. The anger and coldness in his eyes had robbed her of her previous happiness.

Once more, they were hurting one another and lost in the thrill of it all.


	7. The Boys

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Six: The Boys**

Despite his promise to come back, that night Kid had not. He had went to the gym he had in his house. He sighed. His knuckles still stung from the leather.

_**"You don't have to keep doing this to yourself, kid." **_The Shinigami whispered. _**"You're hurting her and, yes, she's hurting you, but you know how to end that hurt. Just grow the balls to do it, or I will." **_Kid sighed mentally.

_'I'll talk to father..' _

_**"You better…" **_

"Hey, Kid!" The owner of the name suppressed a violent twitch at the sound of the voice. Slowly, he turned toward its owner: Soul Evans. The Shinigami was roaring loudly in his mind. By the time Soul and Black Star reached him, he had a minor headache. "You wanna come over to my place? Black Star and I are going to have a video game night. No chicks are going to be there."

"Sure," Kid agreed. Soul smiled while the eavesdropping Black Star whooped.

"Get ready to get your ass kicked!" He vowed. Kid smirked.

_"Kiddo! Play with me!" Patty whined from her seat on their white couch as he walked behind. He still was not used to having two women in the house. _

_"What are you playing?" He had asked. She turned her head to him and smiled then pointed toward the screen. He tilted his head. _

_"Marvel vs. D.C?" He questioned. Patty sighed. _

_"Just sit down, please!" She pleaded. "Liz never wants to play with me!" Her smaller hand fell over his arm and he was yanked over the couch and into the seat beside her. _

_"Patty, I don't know how to…uh…" Kid started. Patty rolled her eyes._

_"I'll teach you as we go just pick up the damn controller!" Quickly, he pulled the controller from the floor. _

As Kid looked to his excited friends, he decided he would talk to father soon. Because if he didn't, Maka and he's madness would harm them. He shuddered lightly as he thought of how their madness would affect Black Star if he tried to resonate with them.

* * *

Near the end of their last class, Liz and Patty cornered Maka and Tsubaki.

"You guys want to come over to our house for a slumber party?" Liz asked. Just as Kid walked from the room, Maka and her dark haired friend shared a look.

"Sure," Maka's answer faded the farther he got down the hall. He sighed as he reached the doorway of his father's "office". He pushed the door open.

"What can I do for you, my cute son?" His father cooed. Kid mentally sighed.

"Is there a way to end the madness that is circling between Maka and I?"

"It will never end, son. The madness will always be present; I'm afraid it was a long term side effect of your separation from her." Death watched his son's face fall dejectedly. "But I do know someone who can teach you to control it." For some reason, Kid was thoroughly dreading who.

"Who?" He swallowed.

"Myself." Kid fought off a very relieved sigh. "Dr. Stein does not understand the level of madness the Shinigami are on; therefore, he would not know how to control it. He would not know how to teach it. Besides, I fear your body parts if I let him get to close." Kid shuddered.

"As do I…"

"When do you wish to start?" Death asked, clapping his hands together.

"Saturday," Kid answered. "Black Star and Soul want me to hang out with them today."

"Oh!" Despite the mask being in the way, Kid could still see his father's overly happy face. "I'm so happy your making friends…"

"Bye, dad." Kid huffed. Death watched his son depart with a worried furrow of his brow.

_'Will those friends still be so open if they knew?' _

* * *

"How does it feel living with two women?" Black Star asked suddenly as he was losing to Kid. Kid saw straight through him. His question was intended to be a distraction, to make Kid look away from the screen. Kid only smiled.

"About like it is living with any woman, except I just have two to drive me insane." Soul snorted.

"Only you would be unhappy about living with two women."

"I didn't say I was unhappy. I love the girls dearly, but like any family member, they tend to grate my nerves." Kid answered. Soul whistled lightly as Black Star's character fell for the seventh time. "Take Patty, for instance, she rearranges everything in the living room at least once a week."

"Tsubaki's pretty easy to live with," Black Star muttered. "She's always cooking for me, doing my laundry without my asking, cleaning up…She's like a regular housewife."

Throughout the conversation his two friends were having, Soul stared at the Shinigami.

_"My master will eventually find me again," Maka had whispered as she buttoned up her shirt. "The day that happens we're going to have to let this go."_

_"Why couldn't you fight against it?" Soul asked as his eyes followed her every move. Shamelessly, he stared at her half clothed body. Even more shamelessly, he laid across his bed, naked. He smirked as her gaze lingered to long on him. _

_"Because he is stronger than either of us. I can't. He won't let me. I won't let me." _

_"You love him?" Soul had asked. Maka sat on the bed. Her long shirt rode up to reveal her black panties. He forced himself not to touch. This conversation, what she was about to say, was to important._

_"Even if I didn't know him, my feelings would be swayed by his power unconsciously on his part." _

_"You know him?" He asked, surprised._

_"Yes," Maka admitted, "we were separated when we were younger by our fathers, because my dad feared what he doesn't understand." _

_"Which is?" _

_"There is no escape. For all of eternity, I am his mate." Maka answered. "He and I never had a choice." He winced. The defeat in her voice nearly ripped him in half. Without thought, he pulled her into his arms. _

Soul still found himself twitching at the terminology she had used.

_'Master…what the fuck did she mean by that? Would the fucker be able to control her?' _Soul had known good and well at the time that she was someone else's girl; he had known that what he was doing was totally uncool, but he couldn't help it. Maka Albarn was like his favorite poison, more addictive than the power the black blood gave him. Even now, he wondered just who that person was.

_"My master…" _

_'Why did she have to refer to him as that…' _Soul wondered. For now, every time he thought of his miester's future with an unknown man, she was always the one in chains.

"Dude!" Black Star whined waving the controller in his face. Soul blinked and snapped out of his daze. "Come on, get up off your ass and play." With an easy hand, Kid tossed him the controller. He blinked.

_"Because he is stronger than either of us…"_

Not for the first time, Soul's eyes roamed to Death the Kid.

_'Stronger than either of us…' _Soul mimicked.

_Soul Evans watched as his miester's eyes followed the new student as dutifully as they did an opponent on the battle field. He felt an oncoming sense of dread for the future. _

_'Could this be him?' _

_'Could it truly be him? The one that will take her away?' _Soul wondered as Black Star shoved him into his seat.

"If you guys want anything to drink there's Dr. Peppers in the frig." Soul mumbled as the game started. Black Star looked longingly toward the kitchen, then back at the television. Despite the worry gnawing at his insides, Soul laughed at Black Star's pathetic expression.

"I'll get it," Kid compromised, rising from the couch.

"Thanks, man!" Black Star hollered. Kid only smiled and wandered toward the kitchen. Soul mentally sighed.

_'So troublesome...' _


	8. The Girls

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Seven: The Girls**

Maka watched Tsubaki's awed face as they walked through Kid's home.

"It's so big!" Tsubaki cooed. Maka laughed and allowed herself to be dragged by Patty down the hall into the living room. "Why aren't you surprised?" Tsubaki asked. Maka smiled.

"Kid-kun and I grew up together, I've seen all of this before," Maka confessed, praying that she hadn't given anything away.

"I bet little Kid was cute," Liz cooed. Maka laughed.

"He was adorable."

* * *

_"Maka-chan, this is my son, Death the Kid," Death introduced. Maka smiled._

_ "Hi! I'm Maka!" She greeted and stuck her hand out. The young boy eyed her hand for a moment, before grabbing it. Maka's eyes widened as a jolt ran through her hand. She turned her green eyes toward his. He looked equally confused. Young Maka turned her eyes to her father and his. "What just happened?" She asked. _

_ "Huh?" Spirit wondered. "You shook his hand, Maka." _

_ "I know that!" Maka stomped her foot lightly. "There was this weird shock!" _

_ "Weird…" Kid whispered, his eyebrow twitching. Maka gasped._

_ "I didn't mean you were weird, Kid-kun!" She hastily explained. "I think you're kinda cool!" Her words were rewarded with a happy smile. Maka returned it. _

_ Spirit, so caught up in his daughter's cute expression, did not see Death's worried, yet happy, face._

* * *

"So what are we going to do?" Liz asked with a lavish stretch. Her T-shirt slid up farther to show pale, beautiful skin. Maka couldn't help the flicker of jealousy that struck her.

_'She's a knock out…' _Maka thought sadly. _'I'm just me…nothing special.'_

_**"Hush with that." **_Kid scolded in her mind. _**"You're beautiful." **_

_**"Shouldn't you be having fun?"**_ Maka returned dryly.

_** "Shouldn't you?" **_

_** "Touché…" **_

"Truth or Dare?" Liz proposed.

"Video games?" Patty suggested.

"How about both?" Maka proposed. Quickly they all agreed on her idea. After all, both twins got what they wanted. Tsubaki was, admittedly, fine with anything as long as she got to spend time with Maka.

Tsubaki allowed her blue eyes to travel over to her long time friend. Ever since Soul and Black Star came along, the two of them drifted slightly. Tsubaki decided to put an end to it. She smiled happily at Maka as she flicked the dark controller toward her.

"Ok, so who goes first?" Maka asked as Patty put the game in. She smiled outright as the title flashed onto the screen: DC vs. Marvel. "I love this game!" She exclaimed.

"Really?" Patty returned. Her blue eyes shining happily.

"Yeah!" Maka returned, bouncing lightly as Patty clicked start. Liz and Tsubaki watched on with fond expressions. For a moment, they looked at one another and laughed.

"Who's your favorite character?" Patty asked as she plopped down next to Maka on the couch.

"Iron Man," Maka answered easily. Patty scoffed. "Well, who's yours then?"

"The Hulk." Patty glanced over at Maka in shock as she laughed lightly.

"He's Black Star's favorite too!" Tsubaki sweat dropped as Liz and Patty laughed.

"It's so predictable!" Liz yelped. Tsubaki looked from every girl in the room.

_'Why didn't I know that? I live with him. I do his laundry. I think I would have noticed something with the Hulk on it.'_

"Ano…Maka-chan, if you don't mind me asking…how do you know that?" Tsubaki asked, surprising all the girls around them, but Maka.

"I grew up with Black Star. He's the one that got me interested Marvel comics. I never really cared much for DC." Maka admitted. "He didn't either, but he still had more on DC than he did Marvel." Patty was hanging onto her every word, while Tsubaki was struggling to keep up.

_'Maka-chan grew up with Black Star, but he never talks about it. Probably because I never asked…' _She admitted shyly. _'The only time he talks to me about his past is when it's about his clan…and even then I asked.' _The sounds of the game started broke her from her thoughts.

"Alright, shall we begin?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Maka and Patty echoed. Liz tilted her head before glancing over at Tsubaki. She smiled at the blue eyed blonde easily.

"Okay, Maka, truth or dare?"

"Why me?"

"Alphabetical order!" Liz sang.

"But your name comes first in the alphabet either way you look at it!" Maka returned. Liz smiled.

"Yeah, but I'm the one asking the question, so I don't count!"

"Fine. Truth."

"Who was your first kiss?" Liz asked with a devious smile.

_'It was probably Soul!' _Liz thought.

"Kid," Maka answered easily.

"WHAT?" All girls hollered, including Tsubaki. Maka laughed.

* * *

_"Hey, Maka-chan," Maka turned away from her coloring to Kid. _

_"Yeah, Kid-kun?" She asked._

_ "May I try something?" Kid asked. Maka tilted her head but nodded, then lips were pressed against her own. Her green eyes widened in surprise and confusion. She stayed there until her friend pulled away then continued to look at him. _

_ "What was that for?" Maka asked. _

_ "Dad told me that it's a way to show affection to the girl you care for," Kid answered. Maka blushed brighter, but leaned in and kissed him too. He blushed and stammered. Maka laughed. _

* * *

However, the mental images that the other girls were having were very different from what actually happened. Patty dreamed that it was sort of like Kid being the villain with the pointy mustache and stealing a kiss from a scared Maka. Liz dreamed that it was more of a romantically based setting with Kid pulling her to him and kissing her senseless. Tsubaki was the closest to being right. Maka laughed at the variety of their expressions.

"We were children, guys. Little Kid was just taking something his father had said and applying it."

"What exactly did he say?" Liz asked, surprised.

"That kissing was a way to show your affection and care for a person of the opposite sex," Maka shrugged. "He shocked the hell out of me when he did it…"

"A first kiss doesn't count if it isn't willing!" Liz protested. Maka smiled.

"Ah, but I kissed him back," all protest died from Liz's lips at that. The cute mental image that popped into her mind nearly made her squeal.

_'Okay, so they weren't older when it happened. That's good, I suppose.' _Liz let her eyes linger on Maka for a moment. _'But…they are so similar in behavior that it's almost like they're the same person.' _

* * *

_"Liz, please hold no ill will toward my mate when I find her," Kid whispered. _

_ "You're going to try and find her?" Liz exclaimed angrily. Kid dodged her fist easily and pinned her to the wall. _

_ "I have no other choice, don't you get it?" He hissed. "The Shinigami in me decided this, decided on her. Even if I didn't know her, I wouldn't have a choice." _

_ "You know her?" _

_ "I grew up with her," he stated, dropping her arms. "Then her father took her away…" _

* * *

_ "I grew up with her…"_

_ "I grew up with him…"_

_ "Grew up…"_

_ "Him…"_

_ "Her…"_

Liz felt as though someone had doused cold water onto her.

_'It is her…' _Liz thought as she fought off tears. _'It is her!' _

_ "Please hold no ill will toward my mate..." _

Liz sighed and sank back down into the couch and waited for Maka to question the next girl.

_'As if I could ever hold ill will toward Maka...' _Liz thought as she stared at Patty and Maka talking away and laughing together.


	9. Out In The Open

**The Best Kept Secrets**

**Chapter Nine: Out In The Open**

The group of friends were scheduled to meet at the basketball court. Patty grinned delightfully at Maka as they walked toward their destination. Maka fought off a sigh.

_'Wouldn't it be easier to just tell them about us?' _Maka wondered. _'I'd rather not lose a friend today..' _

As they approached their destination, the sounds of a ball being dribbled and hitting the hoop edge reached the girls.

"They started without us!" Patty bemoaned while running toward them. Liz laughed beside Maka before following after her sister. Tsubaki sighed.

"Think Patty's going to kill Black Star?" She asked as she fell into step beside Maka. The green eyed girl only shrugged. Tsubaki looked over at her friend. "Um..." She followed her friend's searing gaze and almost drooled. There Death the Kid stood with his shirt off completely, but what really drew the blue eyed beauty's eyes were the scratch marks on his back and bite marks on his shoulders. It was apparent that she was not the only who noticed. Black Star and Soul stood staring at their friend in shock.

"Dammnnn..." Black Star whistled.

"Who gave you those?" Soul finished for his friend. Tsubaki and Maka had now reached them.

"Which was it, Liz or Patty?" Black Star asked. The twins looked at one another with slightly curious expression. Only Patty laughed at the outrageous comment.

_ 'Why would somone accuse me of giving those to Kid?'_ Patty tried to picture being sexual with Kid and only laughed harder. Kid smirked and shook his head.

"Niether," his smoldering golden eyes found Maka's green for a moment. She smothered a fiery blush at the memory each of those bites and scratches had.

_'We started at the door of his room and then moved on to the floor...' _She recalled_. 'How amazing it always is...' _The memories of his flesh pressing against hers and the cold of the wooden door behind her caused a small shiver of pleasure run down her spine.

"EHH?" Black Star and Soul exclaimed, both turned quickly toward the direction of his eyes.

"So it's between those two?" Black Star asked with a tilt of his head. His partner stared back at him with a small tilt of her head. Maka only looked past them. Black Star allowed himself to follow the direction of her eyes. A small suspicion rose to his system as he found that her eyes were glued on the Shinigami.

_'Naw...' _He thought. _'Maka's still a virgin.'_ He was ignoring what Soul could not.

_ 'I've seen that look in her eyes before. Except that smoldering, lustful look was for me. Those are the eyes she only reserves for a lover...'_ Soul thought. He could feel his heart shaking silently from the chill that was falling upon him. Something he always knew would occur, her mate's return, was happening before his very eyes and had been for a while now. Quickly and easily, he thought back to the first night Kid arrived at their school. As he had entered her room, he had seen the glint of metal and black fabric. At the time, he had passed it off as her bra, but now he knew it for what it was. That little piece of material was Death the Kid's tie. 

"Tsubaki?" Black Star exclaimed in surprise. "You've been boning Kid?" Tsubaki blinked in shock for a moment before a vein exploded onto her head.

"Black Star..." She growled and stepped foward.

"Well, not that this isn't a lovely chat," Patty spoke, attempting to difuse the situation that would surely lead to Black Star's death at the hands of a now very angry weapon. "I do believe Maka has a dare to live up too!" She clapped delightfully. Maka paled. The drastic color change and the almost missed dart of the eyes toward her miester made Patty tilt her head. "Unless there's something you would like to share?"

_'Which would be the lesser of two evils here?' _Maka thought of the jealousy a Shinigami was famous for having and easily decided_. 'I'll tell them.' _She looked to Kid for a moment for acceptance. He nodded lightly as if to agree.

"It's me..." Maka whispered. Everyone froze for a minute.

"Huh?" Black Star asked, clearly confused with Maka's random confession. Maka sighed as the truth sank into Liz's blue eyes. It was clear that for the rest of them, she would have to say it.

"I'm the one that gave Kid those..." She admitted with a scarlet blush.

"Prove it!" Black Star demanded. Maka rolled her eyes and unbuttoned her top just enough to expose the top of her breast.

"Maka!" Kid exclaimed, but he was the only one who spoke. For there was the proof no one could deny. Symmetrical hickeys lay on her breast.

"There are two more on the other side," Maka admitted. "Or do you need to see those too?"

"For how long?" Soul asked, breaking the silence.

"Since he first showed up at the academy," Maka admitted as Death the Kid came to stand next to her. With familiar hands, he buttoned her shirt up with ease. Her green eyes caught the shaking of Black Star's hands and the slight clench of Soul's jaw. Across the court, Maka allowed her eyes to meet with Liz's. The tall blonde only smiled back at her.

"It's okay," she answered. "I kind of always knew that it would be you."

"Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?" Black Star demanded loudly. Maka sighed.

"Not here," Kid interrupted. "Come back to my place and we'll explain everything. And if you need further proof, take your questions to my father."


	10. Pandora's Box

**(A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while. Writers block sucks.)**

**The Best Kept Secrets **

**Chapter Ten: Pandora's Box**

"I am a Shinigami as you all know," Kid began, "every Shinigami must also have a mate. Typically, the person is not chosen by the human form, but by the 'demon', as my father calls it, inside of us-that demon is the Shinigami."

"I thought Shinigamis were Gods?" Soul injected. Kid smiled.

"To you, we may be. But to us, it is not an easy life to have. Essentially, all Shinigami are immortal. We will watch our friends die while remaining forever young. Those who find their mates are faced with a choice: let their love remain human and watch as she dies or turn her into a Shinigami." He could feel Maka's surprised eyes on him.

_**"I can't believe you're telling them all of this!" **_Maka spoke mentally. Kid smiled slighty.

_**"It is supposed to be common knowledge." **_

_** "Even about the mating and choice?" **_

_**"Typically, yes, but seeing that teaching this in school is not part of the circulum anymore not many teens know about it." **_Kid explained. Maka nodded.

_**"Need me to cut in?" **_She asked.

"Does the mate get a choice?" Tsubaki asked, her hand raised cutely. Black Star grinned while Kid suppressed a light laugh. Soul chuckled from beside Black Star, earning him a sharp nudge as Tsubaki realized what she had done to get Kid's attention.

Kid allowed his eyes to connect with Maka's green for the first time since their meeting in the basketball court, "yes. She very much has a choice." Maka stood and took his hand in hers.

"Living without your mate or master, as the mate choses to refer to him or her, is very painful and stressing."

"When separation occurs, these feelings become more potent." Kid finished. "When Maka and I were separated, we felt it's effects. Even though we are together again, the pain is still there for the both of us as well as the madness that can come from a lengthy separation."

"What happened to your father's mate?" Soul asked, curious.

"My mother was killed," Kid stated.

"So he's in pain even now?" Liz asked. Kid nodded.

"The only way for his pain to end would be death. Shinigami's mate for life, both in the immortal context and the human context. When a Shinigami loses his mate under any circumstance the side effects will start."

"Is that where your OCD came from?" Black Star asked, "your separation from Maka?"

"No," Maka answered, "he had that way before we even knew what was going on." She glared at Kid, "or before I did..."

"Any other questions?" Kid asked.

"You said that the Shinigami don't have a choice on who it is, does Maka?" Patty asked. Both mate and master shook their heads.

"No, my choice was robbed when I met him." Maka answered.

"If you didn't have a choice, Kid, then why were you able to sleep with Liz?" Soul asked. Maka watched as Liz and Kid tensed.

"The Shinigami has the final say on what the mate can and cannot do. By sleeping with the unknowing Liz, I gave Maka the...ability to do the same."

"Ability?" Liz asked. Her tone incredulous. "Every woman has the ability to cheat."

"I didn't," Maka suplimented before Kid could start.

"Before I cheated, she would have immense painful spasms if a man touched her intimately," Kid explained easily. He did not miss the way Soul's eyes lingered on his weapon.

"Did Maka do it? Return the infedility to you?" Maka and Kid looked at one another at Black Star's question. Both debating whether or not to tell them the truth. Maka sighed.

"Yes," everyone in the room, but Soul, looked shocked.

"You knew..." Liz whispered. "All along that I was the one who.." Maka nodded.

"So who'd you do it with?" Black Star asked, silently praying that it was someone they all trusted and knew and not someone off the streets, although he highly doubted Maka would do something like that.

Black Star was unaware to the budding madness circling around Kid like a second skin, but Maka was not. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched him carefully.

"Is it really not obvious who I chose?" Maka asked with a slight tilt of her head. Instantly, every female's head turned to face Soul. Despite the mantra of how cool guys don't blush Maka was sure he was repeating in his head, a blush slowly began to rise upon his face. He nodded.

"Was it good?" Liz asked instantly and without thinking. Maka's face brightened while Kid's eyes bore into the side of her head. Maka could feel the power radiating from him in waves. She could feel the way the coiled and struck out as if ready to attack at her command, a slight slip of wording and she would be under his control to manipulate as he pleased.

"I plead the fifth!" Maka answered in a slight panic. Small bouts of laughter shook her friends' chest. What they did not understand, Soul saw. He could easily see the way her eyes darted to her 'master' and how dangerous the air suddenly felt. His hold on his temper was slowly slipping.

"You can answer honestly you know," Kid consented, while everyone watched on. To others it might have looked to be a comforting smile, but Maka could see it for it was-a threat to answer wisely. His display of the control over her made raw anger course through her body. Her raw anger seemed to lure his madness to mingle with hers.

"Yes, it was damn good." Maka admitted, her eyes watching Kid as he twitched slightly. "Oh, come on, you knew it would be somewhere along those lines. It's not like half of Death City couldn't hear us!" A round of coughing and surprised gasps broke through the room. Kid's eyes flashed slightly. Through their building rage, Maka could hear Black Star laughing and congratulating Soul with a slug on the arm. It was a normal Black Star move that only made Kid angrier with his mate.

_** "That scum approves of your mate's affair with her weapon!"**_ The Shinigami in him roared. _**"Destroy him!"**_

"Me better than some," he snarked, easily ignoring the Shinigami inside of him as it pleaded with him to be let loose, to reek havoc on the one that dared congratulate his mate's old lover.

"Well then, now you know how it felt for me!" She returned with equal fire. Behind them, Liz paled.

_'She heard everything!'_ She thought frantically, recalling every strangled moan, scream, and sigh of passion and pleasure Kid and she had gave. Slowly, her body began to shake as she thought of the pain it must have caused Maka, a girl with a cheating father, to live through her own mate's infedility, to hear his own infedility, as if she were in the very room with them.

Liz let her eyes wander to Maka's weapon and Patty's best friend, Soul Evans. He seemed to be studying her miester and his miester very carefully. Confused, Liz paid the close attention he was giving them. Her eyes widened as she felt it. The air was thick and heavy around them, almost like the madness that hovered around Chrona, that it was nearly suffocating in its power. While Soul might not have seen it, there was a light shaking to Kid's frame even as his mate and he stood in silence.

"Does your father know of your decision?" Soul asked through the silence. Maka paused.

"I don't see why it is any of his business..." Soul sighed and stood from the couch.

"What you are planning to do sounds a lot like marriage except without the option of divorce. It may be old fashioned, but don't you think your father should at least know of your decision?"

"So that he could keep me from Kid again?" Maka returned. Soul tsked.

"How childish, Maka," her green eyes widened at his scolding. Her fist balled at her side. While it may have sounded like a good arguement to pose, but Maka knew that he was forgetting one thing: she was bound to him no matter her father's reaction.

"That is enough, Soul," Kid growled as he stepped in front of his mate. The danger in the air seemed to pulse. Soul paused, but did not back down.

_'I can't lose control. I can't lose control..' _

_**"Let me take care of him.." **_The Shinigami whispered temptingly.

_'No, you're not getting lose...'_ He swore. A sense of peace washed over him as he felt Maka's hand fall onto his back. She started to rub soothing circles and occassionally altered the pressure she placed. It would have succeeded in relaxing him had it not been for the glare Soul was giving him and the challenge the Scythe was proposing.

"Tell me, Kid, are you willing to harm her father to keep her by your side?" The room was slowly falling silent, even Patty seemed to taste the intent in the air as Soul stepped toe to toe with the powerful Shinigami. Maka could feel her attempts slowly failing as her lover's muscles tensed all over again and the air pulsed violently. "Are you willing to strip away everything Maka loves just to keep her?"

"Want to test it?" Kid hissed, not backing down. A small gasp tore from Maka's lips at his declaration. Soul smirked. Soul had misread the origins of her gasp. It wasn't one of hurt, but one of momentary panic. Kid seemed to be losing himself. What his frantic, scattered mind did not tell her, she picked up in the way his soul whispered. Maka's eyes darted frantically between the two teenage boys. Her green eyes were wide and distraught. Her greatest fear was playing out before her eyes. Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers making her jump. She glanced down to see Patty's wide blue eyes fixed on her. Patty smiled lightly before glancing back at the scene before them. Maka allowed her eyes to continue to roam. Liz and Tsubaki seemed to be worrying their bottom lips while Black Star watched on with interest. Maka swallowed and turned her eyes back toward the scene.

"I will not give up on her so easily, after all," Soul smirked. Maka's eyes closed as Kid's thoughts came to a screeching halt. "She still has a choice between humanity and joining you." Soul spit 'you' out like it was the vilest of curses. An enraged roar of the provoked Shinigami burst forth. Kid's fist struck out. Soul went soaring and smacked against the plaster of the wall. Without a second thought of her safety, Maka threw herself in front of her rampaging Shinigami. Kid's once golden eyes were now blackened by rage. His nails, once trimmed and clean, were long like claws. He resembled every ounce of the demon he worked to contain as those dark eyes shown the betrayal he saw. Even though he presented a frightening image, Maka could not find it inside of herself to fear him.

"You dare protect him?" Kid hissed. His voice sounded raspy and deep. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Liz and Patty shudder. Even Black Star seemed afraid of the teen before him. Tsubaki was shaking against Liz's firm hold. Her black haired friend's dark blue eyes pleaded with her to step away from him.

"Yes," Maka answered bravely. Even with the Shinigami in control of his body, Kid still felt pain at those words. "If you hurt him-"

"You dare threaten me?" The Shinigami roared. As Maka stepped one foot forward, she overheard Tsubaki's panicked whisper of her name. Despite that, Maka stepped closer to her master. Her hands slid up his arms and back down again.

"If you hurt him," she repeated, "you will be hurting yourself. Your human form. They are friends. Soul, now, is just concerned for my happiness."

"And I'm not?" He hissed. Maka suppressed a flinch as his soul wavelength struck out and shinged her hands. She did not retreat at the pain, but tightened her grip. The inhuman sound caused rolls of shudders to rip down the remaining friends' spines. Soul sat wide eyed in front of all the broken plaster.

"You know that no matter if I have a choice or not, I will always be bound to you. You would always come first. Even if I tried to chose another, I would still see you in everything I did with him. Not just because we love one another, but because we have already sealed what we have." Her last sentence seemed to sink into all the listening ears gathered around as Kid fought with Shinigami for control again.

_ "Sealed what we have..."_ It was her way of saying that they had already consummated the relationship.

"What do you mean? Sealed? You aren't a..." Black Star wondered aloud.

"I mean that having sex with Kid made it impossible for me to ever have sex with another man. I won't want another man the way I do him," the whole time she spoke, her eyes never left Kid's slowly goldening ones. "I wouldn't want to anyway..." Maka whispered.

_'You are all I want. You always were. Soul may have wanted and may still want my and his relationship to go farther than just friends with benefits, but I no longer want that. Not with him. The only man I want holding me close, filling my senses to their fullest is you.' _Maka promised mentally. Maka allowed her eyes to flick in Soul's direction. He still sat in the ruins of the wall, looking dazed. _'I'm sorry, Soul...but you have to hear this..' _Maka thought. Kid tilted his head in confusion. Slowly, he was coming back to her. She just needed one more push.

"Explain to me how becoming a Shinigami would work," Maka demanded lightly.

"You're not seriously considering-!" Soul started.

"Yes," Maka cut him off, "I am. There's something you don't seem to understand, Soul. Even if I did chose you, I wouldn't be able to be with you! I am bound to him in more ways that just physical! I am bound mentally and spiritually with him! His pain would be my own. His anger would be my own. In a nut shell, he is me!" She turned away from Soul and back to Kid. "Now, explain please." She silently hoped that her ranting hadn't given the Shinigami an oppurtunity to slip into Kid's consciousness again.

_**'You've heard of the vampire folklore, right?**_' Maka nodded at his question. **_'It's a little like that. I would have to bit you and draw your blood into me in order to bridge the gap between human and Shinigami. Then you would have to do the same to me and take my blood to fully close that gap.'_**

_**'You're leaving something out,**_' Maka scolded.

_**'I would have to be in full Shinigami form.'** _Maka's eyes widened.

_**'Like tonight?'**_

"Like tonight," Kid answered vocally. "You're jumping in front of me put you in more danger that you are aware of. The change to a Shinigami can be very painful or it can be blissfull depending on the mood the Shinigami is in. If I had allowed myself to be completely submerged into my unconscious mind..."

"You would have changed me then," Maka finished. He nodded.

"When a Shinigami feels that it's mate in being threatened, it will do anything to remove that threat. In this case, the Shinigami believed that not only were you being threatened, but our relationship was being threatened as well."

"I wasn't-" Soul started.

"_Have you told your father?_ Does that ring a bell?" Maka snarled, "even to my ears, it sounded as though you were threatened Kid and me. I would literally die without him at this point!" Maka exclaimed. "Separation, this far into the relationship, would mean immediate death." Soul and the rest gasped. "I knew that when I decided to have sex with him. I knew exactly what that seal entitled."

"Normally, during the first coupling, the Shinigami will change his mate." Kid stated. "But since our first coupling was one of anger and not love-"

"Kid refused his inner side access to the moment," Maka finished.

"Your cosummating the relationship," Tsubaki started, "was like the...ultimate contract wasn't it?"

"Yes," Kid admitted.

"Did she know?" Tsubaki asked, looking toward her best friend. Black Star had remained silent since Kid had knocked Soul back into the wall. His mind was vigriously trying to process all of what he had just heard.

"Yes," Maka answered as she looked at Kid. He smiled geninuely at that. That oath of knowledge seemed to finally send Soul on the edge. He stood up from the rubble intending to fight again. Just as he stepped forward, Black Star batted him back.

"She knew what she was doing!" Black Star hissed. "You are acting like a child fighting for his toy. Maka is your partner! Respect her decision just as you would in the battle field!"

"You're interfering with her relationship could knock your wavelengths off again..." Tsubaki said quietly. Soul looked away from Tsubaki's dark blue eyes and down at the floor.

"Soul..." He turned toward Maka. Her green eyes stared sorrowfully back at him. "Maybe it..would be a good idea to.."

"No!" Soul protested loudly already knowing what Maka was going to say. "We are not getting different partners!" Kid stayed silent throughout the entire conversation.

_**'Will you allow it?' **_Maka asked him mentally.

_**'Of course, I will. He's your partner, Maka.' **_Kid soothed. His larger hand folded around her smaller one.

_**'What if he tries something?'**_ She proposed.

_**'Then he'll have to go through me.'**_The pure promise in Kid's voice sent a small shudder down her spine, both of fear and a small spark of lust.

"Okay," Maka said aloud. Kid and Soul smiled at the same time, while Black Star, Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty looked over at one another in fear.

_ 'I have the feeling Pandora's box has just been opened...'_ Liz thought as she glanced between the Shinigami and Maka's weapon. _'And it won't be quietly shut ever again...' _


End file.
